The Dutch company, Drone Delta, held a trial last week during which a drone delivered a package to the vessel Duancis, reports steelguru.com. During this operation, Duancis was moving at normal speed along the waterway near Brienenoord Island. To ensure the flight proceeded safely and efficiently, Network operator KPN was involved and performed the necessary network measurements.
This was the second of a series of trial flights with delivery drones in the port of Rotterdam. Earlier this year, an unmanned craft delivered a package to the deck of the offshore vessel Pioneering Spirit, while it was moored at Maasvlakte’s Alexiahaven. The flights are intended to see whether drone deliveries can increase efficiency in the port of Rotterdam by simplifying as well as speeding up transport usage.
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Some inland vessels only call on the port for a short period. The crew may not always have time to collect specific items by car or van. Therefore, by ordering parts online and then having them delivered by drone could save both time and money.
Also, if a majority of smaller deliveries in the port area are handled by drones, this can result in a less frenetic and quieter more green environment. Meanwhile, Drone Delta is examining whether it is best to maintain a distance from residential areas during deliveries, and if so, by how far.
The trials are leading to such questions: Which routes need to be developed, how much weight should a drone be able to transport, and where do such deliveries fit within the logistics chain?
Recent European regulations have opened up new drone applications including potential autonomous unmanned freight and passenger transport. These recent trials represent an important first step in this process, leading eventually to Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS).
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(News Source: https://steelguru.com)